There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy: hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny. - Frederick William Robertson

fraud - noun - deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.

It is probable that most of the subscribers to this newsletter have borrowed money to purchase a house at least once. For decades this process has been a crucial step in achieving the American Dream. The path to a home with a white picket fence has always started by filling out paperwork at the bank. As common as this practice is, I suspect that less than 0.001% of the population is aware of the fraud involved in this process.

As a young computer genius fresh out of college, I got a job at the Zion, Illinois nuclear plant located near the Wisconsin border on the edge of Lake Michigan. The nuclear operators I worked with were five to ten years older than I was, and many of them had started families, and were looking for a house to call a home. They asked me to run a computer program that would calculate mortgage payments given the loan amount, the interest percentage, and the number of years for the loan. The first time I ran the program I was certain that I had entered the specifications incorrectly because the total payment to the bank totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars. Much to my surprise, the second printout generated exactly the same answers. (I know from personal experience that computers do exactly as they are instructed.)

That was my very first indication that our banking system is based on fraud. When I purchased my own home several years later, my realtor explained that the buyer, seller, and realtor all make money on the transaction. The seller makes a profit by selling at a higher price than they paid, the buyer reduces their tax obligation and builds equity, and the realtor makes a profit by earning a percentage of the transaction. I knew it was impossible for everyone to make a profit, but I wouldn't have been able to explain why that was true at the time.

An even greater fraud has been perpetrated during the last decade as banks have granted loans to people who have no chance of keeping up with the payments. Many families live in fear of being evicted from their homes even though they are doing their best to meet their financial obligations.

The only weapon against fraud is the truth. My friend, Randy Kelton from RULE OF LAW RADIO, is helping people to challenge the banks, and to remain in their homes until after all legal remedies can be exhausted. His REMEDIES IN REAL ESTATE website is the first place to begin your research if you are interested. If you'd like more details, you may call me at 512-461-0995 and I would be happy to give you an overview of the process. There are no guarantees of success, however even postponing the inevitable can be a huge benefit. If you have any comments, questions, or personal experience on this issue, please feel free to leave them here.